2010 F1 Season Preview

11 March, 2010 02:05 (GMT +00:00) 2010 F1 Season Preview Article Video Photos By Stephen Burns - Motor Sports Editor

After the intense battle for the Formula 1 World Championship last year the teams are preparing for the first race of a new season. So as the mechanics prepare the engines and technicians warm the tyres I will help you to understand the changes to the cars and teams and what to expect from the coming 19 races.Rule Changes.

After seventeen years re-fuelling has been banned. Cars will now have to complete the race on a single tank of fuel. Granted it bears little resemblance to regular unleaded, in fact some companies have developed lighter weight fuel, but economy will play an increasing part in racing.

The drivers also face a challenge as they now have to cope with a car set up to be competitive on full tanks without  punishing the tyres and the engineers have to provide a car capable of being quick over a single lap and also when heavy with fuel.

Pressure is also increased on the teams as pit stops will now only involve changing tyres. It is predicted by some teams that all four wheels could be changed in two or three seconds.

The front tyres are 25mm (1 inch) narrower than in 2009. While this offers the driver less mechanical grip from the tyre, the change in the aerodynamic profile of the cars will alter the assistance from the downforce producing surfaces. Combined with the increase in weight of a full car, the brakes will be under greater strain. Teams will concentrate on brake cooling and their effect on the aerodynamic performance of the car.

Aerodynamically the rules are largely unchanged. The Double Diffusers have been developed by all teams to maximise the downforce produced from the underneath if the car. The loopholes that enabled their introduction will be closed at the end of this season. The Wheel Covers introduced over the last few years have been banned partly, as a result of the incident involving Renault last season when a poorly fitted cover resulted in a wheel falling Fernando Alonso's car.

Championship Points will be awarded down to tenth place, with 25 for first, 18 for second and 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1. The seven point gap between  first and second places greater emphasis on a win, with the aim of encouraging better racing.

The Teams and Drivers.

McLaren have signed reigning world champion Jenson Button alongside 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton. Billed as the British Dream Team there could be troubles as in previous years it has been difficult maintaining parity between two big name drivers.

Ferrari suffered from a surplus of drivers towards the end of last season after announcing Fernando Alonso would be driving for the Scuderia in 2010. With Felipe Massa returning from injury and Kimi Raikkonen also under contract, someone had to go. Raikkonen this season is driving a Citroen C4 in the World Rally Championship.

Mercedes Grand Prix. Formally Brawn and before that Honda, after a fairytale season last year, received a massive financial boost as Mercedes Benz took a 75% stake in the Brackley based team. Having lured Michael Schumacher out of retirement and signed fellow German Nico Rosberg the team already billed as Team Germany need to remember that its still essentially a British car. Ross Brawn remains as team principal and is again working with the driver whom he helped to seven world championships.

Red Bull's design genius Adrian Newey has evolved has class leading design and with the stability of an unchanged driver line-up the teams biggest challenge this year will be maintaining their position near the front of the field.

Williams are one several teams with a completely new driver line-up, Rubens Barrichello's experience should complement the talent of rookie team mate Nico Hulkenberg.

After a traumatic 2009 Renault have withdrawn as a manufacturer backed team but with financial backing from Genii the team is hoping to regain the form they had when they won back to back championships. The pairing of Robert Kubica with the first Russian driver Vitaly Petrov also sees Lada entering Formula 1 through sponsorship.

Toro Rosso enter 2010 as a fully fledged constructor. This is the first car designed independently of Adrian Newey's Red Bull design office. Driver stability should help as the team develop the car throughout the season.

After the withdrawal of BMW at the end of last season Peter Sauber has re-established his control over the team that regularly outperformed better rivals before manufacturer involvement. As in their more successful times the Swiss team will again use Ferrari power.

The Lotus name returns to the grid for the first time since 1994. The Malaysian company Proton may own the name but the original spirit of Colin Chapman lives on in the Norfolk team's reunion with the legendary Cosworth engines which powered many of their most successful cars.

Virgin Racing is the name for the first foray into Formula 1 for Manor Motorsport. Having spent last season on the side of the Brawn cars, Richard Branson has again surprised the mainstream by helping the first car to be designed completely by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and without the use of a wind tunnel.

Campos Meta 1 is one of the two new teams that looked unlikely to make the start of the season. A late investment and change of name to Hispania Racing Team will see the début in Bahrain with no testing on the car and no further in season testing allowed.

The USF1 team have requested a deferment of their entry into the Formula 1 World Championship.

With all pre season testing complete it is difficult to say there is an overall leader going into a long championship. McLaren and Ferrari have both seemed strong during race simulations but with Mercedes and Red Bull more than able to keep a close eye on the leaders. Hamilton should have the edge over Button having been at McLaren longer. At Ferrari if Massa can start where he left off before his accident then both drivers will regularly see the podium. From pre season testing it appears that Michael Schumacher has lost none of his ability, however his team mate has yet to see the top of the podium and is eager to taste the victory champagne.


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